Category Archives: Podcasts

Tess Nichol put in the hard yards to see how big a change she could make in six weeks. Photo / Nick Reed

We’ve all had those moments when we’ve realised we’re not looking after ourselves the way we should be.

In those moments it’s easy to wish you could just hand yourself over to the experts, and let them have their way with you. To be told what to eat and how to move your body, then watch the changes start.

Well, one of my colleagues has spent the past six weeks doing just that. She called in a nutritionist and a personal trainer, and sat down to hear the truth about the changes she should be making.

Not only that, but she put in the hard yards of actually making those changes, and documenting how she felt during all of this. It’s not always pretty trying to make a big lifestyle change, and let’s just say, she was fairly honest about that.

I spoke to Tess Nichol, NZ Herald consumer affairs reporter and willing human experiment, for the latest episode of the Go to Health podcast.

We talked about what changes she made under the guidance of the nutritionist and personal trainer, whether it had the results she wanted, and which changes she thinks she’ll keep long term.

There’s been a change in what gym bunnies think is the best way to work out. Photo / File

When you’re slogging away at improving your fitness you want to be sure all that effort isn’t wasted.

It seems there’s a new way to get fit every day. Aerial suspension ran hot for a while, with people trying yoga or strength classes while suspended in reams of silks.

There are shake weights, rolling weights, or weights you can strap onto different parts of your body.

For those who fancy themselves a bit of a ballerina, barre classes have been popular for a while now.

I love a good gimmick, and if it gets me moving, all the better.

But under all the fads, I want to know what’s actually working for people, and what the experts recommend as we head into 2018.

So I called Ish Cheyne, Head of Fitness for Les Mills.

He’d just returned from an international fitness conference, so was ready to tell us all about the fitness trends becoming more popular, the ones that are one their way out, and the difference between people who stick with the fitness habit and those who don’t.